There are many big feelings in the wake of the most recent presidential election and all that it means for us as a country. If your big feelings aren’t those of visceral patriotic joy and follow less positive themes, it sometimes feels like there is very little that one can do in the face of such a large change. If you are like me, you might also want to take part in the little ways to rebel against this new political direction.
One way people have been expressing their frustration with the changes in their countries for centuries is by protesting and becoming educated. If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable going to protests in person or are in an area where these protests aren’t happening, I wanted to suggest a few ways to use education as resistance.Â
For the past few years, there has been a rise in book banning in the United States, something that isn’t new to our country but has ramped up recently. With the Project 2025 plan, this will continue and Congressman Jamie Rakin’s website has reported that “Book bans nearly tripled across America between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years as state legislatures, city and county councils and school boards implement censorship laws advanced by right-wing special interests and central to Project 2025.”
I took the liberty to research which books are being banned and, as it is outlined on Pen America, the majority of these newly banned books “were targeted for including diverse perspectives, book bans from the 2023-2024 school year overwhelmingly featured stories with people or characters of color and/or LGBTQ+ people” as well as books that tell the stories of women and girls, especially those that discuss survivors of sexual assault.
If this is something that disturbs you as it does me, I have put together a list of books from The All State’s index of banned books which continues to be added to in real-time and cross-reference that with Pen America’s older list from the 2022-2023 year. These are a few texts that will not only educate those who read them but also provide us all with insight into how we can help support each other for the next four years. I encourage reading as many of the banned books as you are willing, but if that task seems overwhelming at first, these next books are a good place to start!
Book 1: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodÂ
Book 2: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Book 3: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Book 4: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Book 5: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
Book 6: Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Book 7: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Book 8: The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Book 9: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Book 10: The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
I hope you are interested in at least some of these novels, and can personally attest to their impact. As we enter the next chapter for our country and the world around us, the most important thing to remember is that; however you may feel, you are not alone. If you are interested in taking steps to protest the happenings however actively, there are ways to do so safely and in the comfort of your own home. By educating ourselves on the difficult topics that are being swept under the rug such as historical racism, sexism, and homophobia in our country, we can hopefully prevent future political disappointments.Â
Things may seem dark now, but make some tea, curl up on your couch, and let’s all put our heads together, or rather, our noses in books together, and make sure that in four years, we are better educated and ready for November 7th, 2028. Happy reading, and keep ur chins and fists up!Â